The Hanging Tree
by Lady of the Spirit
Summary: Oneshot. When Quasimodo is eleven years old, a woman burns in the square down below his bell tower. And while she burns, she sings a song that will haunt him for the rest of his days. Not a good summary,but check it out.


The Hanging Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own the song, or the characters, except for Nadya. Nadya is the only thing I own.

I leaned against the hard wood of the stake. I could feel the straw scratching at my bare feet.

I was going to die tonight.

My name is Nadya.

The reason I am being burned is because I'm a gypsy.

Judge Claude Frollo made his way across the deck toward me, with an evil smile on his face.

"Say goodbye to the world, gypsy wench." He snarled.

I stared at him with a calm expression.

"I have never wronged anyone in this city. If this is the way I will die, I embrace it with open arms. God will show mercy on those who were wronged." I said calmly.

"God will never show mercy on bitches like you!" He spat, obviously furious with my statement.

"And He will never show mercy on cruel, horrible, hypocritical, monsters like you. You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help. You are the true monster, not that boy you raise in that bell tower." I said.

He narrowed his eyes in shock. "How do you know that?" He demanded. When I didn't answer, he said, "Answer me!"

"I will predict my last fortune!" I said out loud, my voice carrying above the noise of the crowd watching my burning. "The man before me will burn Paris to the ground. He will attack Notre Dame herself. And he will blame it all on an innocent girl. He will be killed indirectly by the _half-formed one_, and will burn in Hell for all eternity!" I said "half formed one" in Romanian so no one except me and the gypsies that were watching knew who I was talking about.

Frollo gave a hiss of outrage. He grabbed the torch from the executioner and threw it into the straw, setting it ablaze.

The fire spread quickly. The smoke rose off the straw and blew around in the air, but it didn't affect me. I simply closed my eyes and started singing. My voice carried through the night sky and it echoed to Heaven.

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

The entire square seemed to go silent as I sung. My voice was louder than the crackling of the fire, and the smoke had no effect on my lungs.

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

Up in the bell tower, Quasimodo watched in horror as the flames spread across the straw and started licking at the woman's body. He had no idea why he was watching, but he felt like he should, despite the horribleness of it all.

Her voice was the most beautiful thing he ever heard, besides his bells. It was remarkably similar to his small bells.

How was she not affected by the smoke? She wasn't coughing, hadn't passed out, or anything.

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

Amidst the crowd, a small girl stood in the background of the scene, watching the execution with emerald eyes wide in horror. She formed a word on her lips briefly, before her eyes filled with tears. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Clopin. He took her by the hand and almost succeeded in leading her away, but the girl stayed and watched.

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me..._

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

As my voice let out the last line, I slumped against the stake, finally giving in to my exhaustion. I saw Frollo staring at me with a sick smile on his face, and I simply smiled at him.

"My prophecy will come true, old man. They say karma is a bitch. They're right."

Those were her last words. Her eyes slipped shut, and her breathing stopped.

Then, something amazing happened.

The moon and the stars seemed to shine brighter as soon as her eyes shut. Her body was bathed in moonlight, and the fire stopped crackling and slowly became nothing more than a flickering flame. The woman's body suddenly disappeared. To the good people in the crowd, the body was replaced by the woman, only her outfit had changed. Gone were the white rags she had been wearing before. In their place was a silk white dress, and on her wrist was a silver bracelet with a red gemstone in it. Her black hair was blowing slightly in the wind, and on her back were giant feathered angel wings. She looked out at the crowd, and smiled at them all, before floating into the sky and becoming a star.

To all the truly bad people, she had been replaced by a man with red skin, black hair, horns, a forked tail, and a long pitchfork. He glared at them all, before disappearing into the fire.

Up in the bell tower, Quasimodo watched in disbelief as the star woman floated across the floor toward him. When he flinched, she said softly, "don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." She rested a hand on his cheek. "Quasimodo, you are so much more than Frollo believes you are. You are not the monster. Never forget that. You are the most fully formed person in the world. Don't believe in your name. A monster is not made from what is outside, but what is inside. And Quasimodo, you have the purest heart I have ever seen." She placed a kiss on his forehead, a kiss a mother would give, and floated off the balcony and into the sky.

Quasi never forgot that encounter with the woman. The thing he remember most, however, was the song she had sang while being burned alive.

Years later, Quasimodo sat in the park with his friend Esmeralda the gypsy, and her husband Phoebus. He had fallen in love with Esmeralda for a brief time, before finally letting her go to Phoebus.

He heard Esmeralda humming under her breath while she tapped her tambourine.

"Esmeralda, what are you singing?" he asked her. She seemed to snap out of a memory.

"It's just a song my mother sang to me when I was younger."

"What happened to your mother?" Phoebus asked curiously.

"She was burned at the stake." She said shortly. "I don't really remember it to well."

Phoebus and Quasi winced slightly.

"Do you know the words to the song?" Quasi asked. Esmeralda smiled at him, before singing softly.

As she sang, Quasi's eyes widened as he listened.

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where they strung up a man they say murdered three?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free?_

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

_Are you, are you_

_Coming to the tree_

_Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me..._

_Strange things did happen here_

_No stranger would it seem_

_If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree._

Her voice seemed to choke on the last word. Phoebus put a hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

"I know her." Quasi said softly. Esmeralda looked at him in confusion. "I heard her sing that song when she died. She talked to me, and became a star."

Esmeralda and Phoebus stared at him in disbelief. Esmeralda suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh. Right."

"What? What's 'oh, right?" Phoebus said in confusion. Esmeralda laughed, and tugged her husbands beard playfully.

"Nothing, love."


End file.
